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Leaders Urge Joint Drive For Peace At Kazakh Summit
Almaty (AFP) Jun 19, 2006 Leaders of countries in conflict-stricken Central Asia and their neighbours on Saturday called for cooperation to secure peace amid issues such as Middle Eastern violence and the nuclear threat. "The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction... poses a threat to peace and security," the leaders said in a joint declaration ending the summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). The nations represented at the summit here included Russia, China, Iran, Israel and Pakistan. The declaration followed comments at the summit by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi about his country's nuclear programme, which has provoked a diplomatic crisis over fears that Iran may be developing a nuclear bomb. Araqchi described recent incentive offers by United Nations Security Council members and Germany as a step towards mutual trust, but warned that Iran would not give up developing nuclear power for peaceful purposes. The countries at the summit also condemned international terrorism and emphasised the need for cooperation between Asian countries in fighting organised crime, drug-trafficking and money-laundering. The issue of conflict in the Middle East also cropped up in the summit, with Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres emphasising the role of economic links in reaching a "real and lasting peace" between Palestinians and Israelis. The summit's closing declaration reiterated earlier calls by Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Hu Jintao of China and Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan in underlining the need to tackle the major threats to peace. Energy security was also discussed, the countries in their declaration describing it as a priority for the international community and expressing a commitment to cooperation between energy-producing and consumer countries. Opening the second four-yearly summit of the CICA, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev earlier on Saturday said the countries of Asia should work more closely to foster security, political stability and economic development in the region. Chinese President Hu Jintao stressed the importance of economic development in the region and the need to respect "all civilizations and their diversity". Critics say the CICA, founded in 1999, has yet to demonstrate that it is anything more than a talking shop and has adopted no concrete measures to back up its statements of good intent. However, they say it is original in that its 17 member states include the protagonists in the Israeli-Palestinian and India-Pakistan conflicts. The CICA set 2010 as the date for its next summit.
Source: Agence France-Presse Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links - News From Across The Stans
Pakistan Hikes Defence Spendings
Islamabad (AFP) Jun 08, 2006Pakistan on Monday increased defence spending by 12 percent and announced the highest ever allocation of funds to fight poverty in its new budget for fiscal year starting July 1. |
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